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Need Help Identifying The Writing On This Token?

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Author Replies: 6 / Views: 160Next Topic  
Valued Member

United States
280 Posts
 Posted Yesterday   10:54 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add jdsstrat to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I have 5 of these very thin tokens (?) that are mostly rusty. Diameter = 19.5mm. Mass = .66g. On one of them, I think I am seeing a ghost-like image of a head on some kind of cart/train that is on a track moving forward.

Need-Help-Identifying-The-Writing-On-This-Token?
Need-Help-Identifying-The-Writing-On-This-Token?

Another one of the 5 tokens has this writing on the front and back.


Need-Help-Identifying-The-Writing-On-This-Token?
Need-Help-Identifying-The-Writing-On-This-Token?

Has anyone ever seen this kind of thing before?
Edited by jdsstrat
Yesterday 3:56 pm
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Empty_Pockets's Avatar
United States
270 Posts
 Posted Yesterday   2:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Empty_Pockets to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The second one looks like Chinese to me, or maybe South Korean because of the block shape of the character.
Just my 2 cents.
Joanne
Valued Member
United States
280 Posts
 Posted Yesterday   2:35 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jdsstrat to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Yes, to me too (and to AI), Joanne. I don't know if you can make out the first one, but to me it also has an Asian look to it.
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augsburger's Avatar
Germany
1072 Posts
 Posted Yesterday   8:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add augsburger to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The second one looks a little like it's upside down and says "chu" in Chinese, but not quite, and it doesn't get used on its own, it's used to describe outward movement. The first one seems to have a tree, which is a common prefix on Chinese characters, but again, not quite a character. I don't think they're Chinese.
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Spence's Avatar
United States
34550 Posts
 Posted Yesterday   8:51 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@jds, are these pieces all attracted to a magnet?
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb

"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
Pillar of the Community
Australia
1623 Posts
 Posted Today  1H 19M ago  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add David Graham to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Sorry, but they look like random marks that are not pressed into the metal at all. Paint? The first 2 images are out of focus which doesn't help.
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Sap's Avatar
Australia
16996 Posts
 Posted Today  31M ago  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The very thin rim visible on one side of each "token" is a sign to me that they were punched-out of a sheet of metal - in effect, much the same as coin blanks are. THat they were not struck or anythgin after being punched out indicates they are either non-numismatic, or were done very cheaply. I think they are "supposed to be" blank and any shapes or patterns you're seeing on the "blanks" are just Pareidolia. I agree that the characters on the painted one look "roughly Asian" but appear to be somewhat sloppily drawn - which would be unusual in a culture that prides itself on good calligraphy, which again tells me it was something done quickly, and perhaps not intended to be looked at as closely as we're now looking at them.

One possibility that fits all these criteria occurs to me - especially if they're in a group or set - is that they're "stage money", used as props in theatre plays or some such. All a "stage coin" has to be is round, shiny, and be made of metal so it makes a proper clinking sound when jingled or thrown around up on the stage. Using obviously-fake-up-close prop coins reduces the chances an impoverished actor would pocket the props for spending money.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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